Baking-oven.



PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

F. M. PETERS. BAKING OVEN.

APPLIUATION FILED 0OT.15, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 838,270. PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.- F. M. PETERS.

BAKING OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED 0015.15, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

x. W 1 M m UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

Application filed October 15. 1903. Serial No. 177-154.

To all-whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. PETERS, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baking Ovens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to baking-ovens, and has for its general object to provide certain improvements in the character and construction of such ovens, said improvements relating in part to the provision of a flexible endless conveyer with means whereby the same is caused to travel and convey the goods through the oven at such a speed as effects the proper baking of the goods during such travel; in part to a novel means of heating the oven; in part to a novel means of directing and controlling the flow of hot-air currents through said oven; in part to means for regulating and directing the ap lication of heat from the main burners to t e upper or canying section of the conveyer; in part to means for preliminarily heating the conveyer before the goods are introduced thereto, and in part to other minor details of construction and arrangement, all as hereinafter more particularly described,and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein is'shown an oven constructed in accordance with and embodying the novel improvements of my invention, Figure 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudina vertical section, of so much of the oven as is essential to clearly illustrate my improvements; and Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same on the line 2 2 of 1 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Referring to the drawings, 5 desi nates the main chamber of the oven, whic is here shown as substantially rectangular in crosssection, being bounded by parallel vertical side walls 5*, parallel vertical end walls 5",, and a substantially flat roof 5, rounded ofl at its junctions with the side walls. The end walls 5 are open at their upper portions, and

these ope s are contro ed by verticall reciprocable doors or gates 6. Immediate y below the openings controlled by .these doors are secured rackets 7, in and between which latter are journaled a pair of drums 8, which receive and support an endless fiat conveyer 9. This conveyer is preferably a thin sheet or apron of steel, although any other flexible and fireproof material may be used for this ose, if desired. To the shaft of one or b d E of the drums 8 suitable power connections (not shown) are applied in any wellknown way, to effect the travel of the conveyer-apron at any desired rate of speed, ac-

cording to the heat existin in the oven and the character of the goods eing baked. The upper or carrying section of the conveyer passes through the openings above the end walls of the oven controlled by the doors 6,

the latter being raised sufficiently for this purpose, while the lower section of the con veyer passes through transverse slots (indicated at 5*) in said end walls below the bracket 7.

On led es 10, extending horizontally of the I inner s aces of the side walls of the oven, is supported a skeleton frame consisting of longitudinal and .transverse beams 11 and 12, respectively, this frame constituting a support for the up er section of the conveyer, over,

which the atter slides. Along either side of this support are preferably arranged low walls 13, designed to shield the goods lying alon the edges of the conveyer from the direct heat-rays of the underlying burners and revent scorching or overba thereof. iransversely of and between the s1 e walls of the oven, below the lower section of the conveyer, is mounted one or more rollers 14, de-- signed to support said lower section.

The oven may within the purview of the invention be heated by any suitable heating means; but I have herein shown the sameas designed to be heated by gaseous fuel, and for this urpose I have disposed within the oven and between the side walls thereof a number of burneripes suitably located to produce the desire heating efiects. One row of such burner-pipes is shown at 15 disposed at a suitable height above the u per carrying-section of the conveyer and aving their burnerapertures 15 formed in their lower ortions, as shown in Fig. 2,. to direct the downwardly toward the upper surface of the goods on the conveyer. ing series of burner-piples (deslgnated by 16) is disposed beneath t e carrying-section of the conveyer and its support, said ipes having their burner-apertures 16 ormed in their upper portions, so as to direct the flame- I I O0 ame-jets Another correspond-- 'jets upwardly toward'the under side of the carrying-section of the conveyer. 17 designeath the outgoing end, 0

' the degree of heat atdifferent of the conveyer and having their burnera ertures 17 a disposed upwardly, so as to e ect a preliminary heating of the conveyer just prior to its reception of the goods.

The regulation and tempering of the heat emitted by the burner-pipes are effected principally by cooks or valves with which each of said pipes is equipped, said cocks or valves being indicated at 16 and 17 in Fi 2. By the proper manipulation of these va ves not only may the total amount of heat imparted to the oven be nicely regulated, but the heating effects can be localized as desired to effect a top or bottom bake, orboth, to just the degree required or desired. Variations in oints in the oven can also be obtained by lig ting some of the burners and allowing the others to remain unignited. It is also desirable to secure a further regulation of the heating effect of the series of burners underlying the carrying-section of the conveyer in the way of providing for either a direct or indirect heat therefrom or a combination of direct and indirect heat. To this end my invention embraces a mechanism for this purpose which in the preferred form herein shown consists of a series of shutters 18, pivotally mounted in the side Walls of the oven above the burners 16, the stems or journals of said shutters extending through the wall of the oven at one end and terminatin a wrench-hold, as indicated at 18' in Fig. 2. The side margins of the shutters are provided with mating joints, as shown at 18", so that when the shutters are turned to horizontal position their margins overla and when united they constitute an un roken shield between the burner-pipe 16 and the carrying-section of the conveyer.

Surmounting the roof of the oven is a main discharge flue or chimney 19, provided with a damper 20, which flue communicates with i the interior of the oven through the roof by -means of a series of branch flues 21, each equipped with a similar damper 22. l

, T e operation of the oven and the benefits and advanta es secured thereby may be brieflv desori ed as follows: Power being applied to the shaft of one of the drums 8, said drum is rotated, producing a continuous travel of the conveyer-apron at any desired speed. Fuel being turned on through the burner-pi es and ignited, the chamber of the oven and the conveyer are preliminarily heated to make them ready for the reception of the goods to be baked. The door 6 having then been raised sufficiently to enable the goods to clear the lower edges thereof, said goods are then delivered by hand or by any suitable auxiliary mechanism to the entering end of the upper carrying-section of the conveyer, whence they are caused to travel entirely through the longitudinal extent of the interior of the oven at a such rate of speed as serves to impart thereto the desired degree able the condition of the latter to of baking eflect, the goods being delivered at the outgoing end of the carrying-section of the conveyer onto any suitable receiver. While the goods are being baked, the degree of heat im arted by the burners and the desired localization of the heat can be nicely regulated by thevalves or cocks controlling the individual fuel-inlet pipes. By a proper manipulation of the shutters 18 the heat imparted by the burners 16 to the under side of the carrying-section of the conveyer can also be nicely regulated, so as to provide for a direct or indirect heatin effect upon the latter, or a combination of t e two. For instance,

.some or all of the shutters maybe opened more or less to allow the direct heat-rays to reach the baking-chamber. On the other hand, an indirect heating effect may be secured by closing the shutters. This secures such regulation in the baking-chamber as to produce the desired baking effects. The

shutters 18, in conjunction with the several For inrise practically straight from the burners to the flues 21 with but little, if any, circulation through the oven. On the other hand, by

opening only one or more shutters at one end of the oven and the damper 22 at the opposite end of the oven the heated currents may be caused to travel the entire length of the oven before being discharged. By other regulations of the shutters and dampers a greater or less circulation of the heated currents, as desired, can be obtained, as will be obvious. chimney 19 regulates the rapidity with which the heated currents in the oven are discharged.

I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate herein means for igniting the several burners, since any suitable or convenient igniting device, such as a pilot-light, may be emloyed, preferably in association with a peephole in the wall of the oven, suitably located relatively to each of the burner-pi es to enhe readily ascertained from the outside, such peepholes for this purpose being well known and understood in connection with ovens of various sorts.

It is obvious that many changes and modifications in the structure and arrangement of the apparatus hereinabove described might readily suggest themselves to the mechanicor artisan skilled in the manufacture and operation of baking-ovens, which modifications or changes would still be within the spirit and scope of this invention. I do not, there- The maindamper 20 in the flue or fore, limit the invention to the detail features either of construction or relative arrangement herein shown and described except to the extent that they are made the subject of specific claims. 1

I claim 1. In a baking-oven, the combination of a baking-chamber, an endless conveyer passing therethrough, heating means situated within the baking-chamber below the carrying portion of the conveyer, and a shield interposed between said heating means and carrying portion of the conveyer, said shield being provided with a plurality of independently-operable sections by which the heat from said heating means may be directed to any point of the conveyer, within the bakingchamber, or may be distributed from one end of the chamber to the other, substantially as described.

2. In a baking-oven, the combination'of a baking-chamber, an endless conveyer passing therethrough, heating means situated within the baking-chamber below the carrying portion of the conveyer, a shield interposed between said heating means and carrying portion of the conveyer, said shield being provided with a plurality of independentlyoperable sections by which the. heat from said heating means may be directed to any point of the conveyer, within the bakingchamber, or may be distributed from one end of the chamber to the other, and a plurality of valved fines communicating with the baking-chamber at difl erent points longitudinally thereof, substantially as described 3. In a baking-oven, the combination of a baking-chamber, an endless conveyer passing therethrough, heating means situated within the baking-chamber above and below the carr ing portion of the conveyer, and a shield a apted to cut off communication between the lower heating means and the carrying portion of the conveyer, said shield comprising a plurality of independently-operable sections, substantially as described.

4. In a baking-oven, the combination of a baking-chamber, an endless conveyer passing therethrough, heating 'means situated within the baking-chamber above and below the carrying portion of the conveyer, a shield adapted to cut off communication between the lower heating means and the carrying portion of the conveyer, said shield'comprising a plurality of independently-operable sections, and a plurality of valved flues communicating with the baking-chamber at different points longitudinally thereof, substantially as described.

5. In a baking-oven, the combination with a bakin -chamber and an endless conveyer mounte to travel in and through said chamber, of heating devices in said chamber beneath the carrying-section of'the conveyer, and a shield interposed between said heating devices and said carrying-section of the conveyer, said shield comprising a series of independently-operable pivoted edgewise overlapping shutters, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FRANK M. PETERS. Witnesses:

FREDERICK C. Goonwnv, SAMUEL N. POND. 

